The owner of the Solicitors from Hell website, Rick Kordowski, was made the subject of a bankruptcy order on 7 September 2011, the Gazette can confirm. The petition had been supported by a number of solicitors with damages and costs awards against him.

In a statement issued today, the Law Society noted: ‘[We] understand Mr Kordowski to have been sued for libel on at least 16 occasions, and over £150,000 in outstanding judgments and orders to have accrued against him.’

Solicitorsfromhell.co.uk allowed visitors to post complaints about law firms and individual solicitors. The postings appeared in Google searches for the firms and solicitors concerned within 24 hours.

Kordowski previously said that he set up the website because he was ‘shocked’ about the number of complaints made about solicitors. He has maintained that he was carrying out a public service that is also of benefit to the profession.

However, law firms were asked to pay £299 to have all current and future traces of their name removed from the site. Kordowski also offered them the option to pay between £99 and £199 to have specific postings deleted. Visitors were charged a fee for posting a complaint about a firm.

Kordowski insisted that any income from these fees was spent on upkeep of the site.